[Long working hours and occupational injuries: estimates from the First Survey on Safety and Health Conditions at Work in Ecuador].

Abstract

Objective: to estimate the association between weekly working hours and occupational injuries (OI) among the salaried population in Guayaquil, Ecuador.  Methods: a cross-sectional study that used data from the First Survey on Safety and Health Conditions at Work in Ecuador in 2017. The respondents were 1005 salaried workers, divided into two groups according to weekly working hours, ?43 and ?44 hours. The relationship between long working hours and OI by gender was analyzed by using logistic regression (OR; CI 95%) adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics (Model 1) and also for occupational characteristics (Model 2).  Results: 30.9% of the workers declared ?44 weekly working hours (50.7±6.3 hours) and the OI percentages in this group were higher in men (24.2%) compared to women (12%). OI among those working long hours increased with age in men. In addition, the odds of sustaining an OI were higher among men working long hours as compared to the standard working day (OR = 3.08; 95% CI: 1.87-5.07), for Model 1 settings (OR = 2, 98; 95% CI: 1.79-4.95) and Model 2 (OR = 3.05; 95% CI: 1.82-5.11).  Conclusions: Long working hours are associated with OI in men. In the case of women, despite the fact that the frequency of OI was higher in those exposed to long working hours compared to those exposed to standard working hours, no statistically significant associations were observed. Implementation of preventive measures that consider the length of working hours in companies could result in the reduction of OI.